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What's happening on the farm right now?
We are taking stuff out of the tunnels (see turnips, ranunuclus and anemones) and putting stuff in the tunnels (see cherry, heirloom, cocktail and beeksteak tomatoes). Today is a perfect day for it because it has been raining steadily and we get to work inside.
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The overwintering onions (photo above) are starting to bulb up. We usually sell a lot of these as spring onions but this year we lost so many due to the super cold over Christmas week, that we are saving all of them to sell as regular storing onions. These guys have been growing since last October and will be ready in early June. That's a good 6 weeks before our spring planted onions, pictured below. They have been in since April and have a ways to go.
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We love growing onions over the winter because they grow during a time when there are almost no insect or weed pressure. You just have to be willing to roll the dice with the weather. Hmmm, I guess that is true of any season when you are farming.
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We had a good freeze on Tuesday night and the potatoes took a bit of a hit. You can see the frost damage in the potatoes at the bottom of the photo below. There is still some green hidden under there so they will recover just fine.
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What's available in the store and at market this week?
The strawberries are really starting to come in and are sweetening up too. We have two kinds of head lettuce, red leaf and green oak leaf. No lettuce mix this week but it should be back next week. This is likely our last week for the sweet little Japanese salad turnips. We usually eat these raw and grated in salads but they are also delicious sliced and sauteed with a little butter and miso. More greens this week, green kale, lacinato kale and rainbow Swiss chard.
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For flowers, we have stunning snapdragons, ranunculus, anemones, peonies and our mixed bouquets. The tulip season has come and gone already! It is also going to be a short season for the rununculus. We have already taken out three beds and are working on our last one.
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I've added more summer starts to our list online, peppers and eggplants along with tomatoes, squash, cucumber, culinary herbs, and flowers plants.
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River Arts District Farmers Market hours are Wednesdays 3-6pm at the Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Drive. North Asheville Tailgate Market hours are Saturdays 8 am until noon on the campus of UNC Asheville.
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John's Recipe of the Week
| John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful observations on gardening and cooking appear here each week. |
“You are what what you eat eats.” Michael Pollan
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Something different with strawberries.
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STRAWBERRY COMPOTE – Thanks to the “Well, Shut My Mouth” cookbook. Good on breakfast dishes and desserts. Stephanie Tyson puts her compote on sweet potato biscuits. This makes 4 cups, so you may want to adjust this recipe.
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1 quart strawberries, quartered
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Put everything in a sauce pan and simmer until it thickens, about 25 or 30 minutes.
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QUICK CHARD – We’ll have some more complex chard recipes later, but actually, chard does not get much better than this simple recipe. This takes about 10 minutes to make. Adjust ingredients if you use more chard.
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Chard for 4 servings, a couple of bunches with stems removed, chopped and washed well
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2 or more tbsp. diced onion
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One or two minced garlic cloves, or more
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Heat oil medium high add everything but the chard. At this point you can add a pinch of nutmeg or thyme if you like. You can also add chopped chard stems if you prefer. Cook a few minutes until onions start to brown then add a couple of tablespoons water and the chard. If using wine, add as the leaves wilt, and boil off. Adjust the salt and pepper and serve.
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Your farmers, Vanessa and Alex
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Love the flowers. Honor the vegetables. Let the weeds go!
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- Cheri Huber and Ashwini Narayanan
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